If you love books and reading, then this is a great job. Company values staff and is involved in its own personal development. You are expected to be knowledgeable about what you sell, and you get a lovely staff discount too.

Cons

At my branch, it was well known that my boss could say inappropriate things to members of staff (she had an odd attitude in how to direct staff, including changing long established shift hours for no reason, then complaining at staff when they had to be changed back and it was well known you had to be on her good side if you had any requests). Concerns were made to regional management, but whether anything was done I do not know.

Advice to Management

If you ever decide to open branches in the USA let me know! Also, please have accountability for bookstore managers.

If you love books it is a great place to work.Colleagues a great mixture of people.Get to meet some really interesting customers and opens your every to new books to read!Lovely atmosphere.You can really make a difference to people, we used to get a lot of customers for whom the store was a social and intellectual lifeline.Great discount.Events are great if you are at a larger store.Really you have a limited amount of responsibility - work is left a work.

Cons

HR operation not great - and this is coming from someone who now works in HR. Culture of bullying left to flourish in some stores.Limited opportunities for career development - very much based on whose face fits.I had a really awful manager, but they were a long serving employee who they would not do anything about despite various complaints. Hence the HR issues.Pay poor but it is essentially retail so in line with the market.Rota was always a bit of a shambles. Holiday hard to book etc.

Advice to Management

Improve your working culture and HR visibility. Do not rely on people's love of books meaning they put up with poor culture. It is unethical.

Really lovely like-minded colleaguesThe stores work in clusters, which are all tailored to the local area, so there was room to be independent and contribute ideasYou can get a 'behind the scenes' view of publishing, and sometimes attend events and meet authorsGet a sneaky look at books before they're published50% discount

Cons

There is a lot to know- so many different genres that you are expected to have some knowledge of which can be daunting for new startersYou are pushed to sell the books of the month (I personally don't like having to hard sell)

Fantastic colleagues, being surrounded by books all day & 50% discount

Cons

I gave 9 years of my life to this company to be taken advantage of. Managing the store on a basic booksellers wage was only the start. Being told that we were in the job for the love of books not money by management was true in the end. I worked for several mangers until they made me one but in a struggling store whatever I did wasn’t good enough.In a deprived area we were a target for every shoplifter around with often only 1 member of staff for a 2 floor store. It often felt quite intimidating with gangs of kids taking up residence on the first floor when it was impossible for a lone worker to leave the ground floor.Selling books of the month designed for affluent middle class customers was almost impossible.When I gave notice I was overpaid (I was owed time off in lieu that it was impossible to take. My ‘debt’ was sold to a debt collector.Massively stressful & detrimental to mental health.

Advice to Management

I got tired of hearing how much we were valued by James Daunt only to be treated with contempt by middle management.Stop having favourites, treat your staff on merit & for goodness sake pay them a living wage.

Before I say anything, I'd like to make it clear that I had only a few months experience in a single store. However, I did enjoy my time at Waterstone's tremendously. It was a dynamic, happy place to work, where people were really helpful and patient. The work itself allows you to be in touch with all sorts of people, but by dealing with literature, you can peek a bit into who people really are. Besides, I could see that it was a space that grants a employer a chance to grow. What I liked most is how Waterstone's makes booksellers a part of the whole "publish-sell" process, as it's really easy for a bookseller to be in touch with publishers. Therefore, the scope of your network expands beyond your branch.

Cons

I'm not really sure. I don't find myself in a position where I can complain much. Maybe I was lucky, but, as I said, I met truly patient, supportive and friendly people during my time at the company. Therefore, even when facing problems, we could resolve them quickly and effectively.